Abe Frohman wrote:Some teams are built around stars who garner lots and lots of scoring trophies...but cannot find the necessary chemistry to excel in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this MAY be the Pens best description.

You draft well...get superstars, but FAIL to surround them with the talent needed to win in the PLAYOFFS. You overspend on some areas (CENTER, I will say until they unload one of these players), ignore others to their detriment.

Top goalie sucks in the series...top-2 stars almost invisible for long stretches...defense is soft...NO veteran leadership. PERIOD...

Massive changes are needed...a lot of dead-weight on this team.

Maybe my history is foggy, but we've already won 1 cup with this team, right? That would ultimately debunk this entire post.

Couldn't disagree more. This team has been molded around three centers. This is what a healthy lineup built around three centers was able to do in the playoffs. The Flyers blew up their roster last summer but won with tenacity and depth....something the pens could not match.

I don't care what anyone says....a healthy lineup....another first round exit....it's time to $&@?ing retool. Maybe it's time to part with DB and go in a different direction......maybe it's time to move 71 or 87 and bring in some more offensive depth. Something has to be done because clearly this team is not built for playoff success.

I change my mind on whether I agree with this sentiment almost by the second. On one hand, I don't think the series was a matter of complete Flyers dominance -- this game was by far the most complete performance by any team in the series -- but on the other hand, I don't particularly love this team right now or feel great about it. Is it ok to admit that I don't really know what the best course would be? Its a message board, so this is probably a dangerous sentiment to express.

The Flyers deserved this win. They came out today and played excellent D. They had forwards back, sticks down, bodies in lanes. The Pens should take some notes for next year.

Really disappointing on 1 level, but after going down 3-0 there was no room for error. They err'd this afternoon. MAF will get most of the blame, but the team failed to show up and play with desperation. They looked slow and disinterested. Unbelievably disappointing.

malkinshair wrote:MAF let his team down, but, honestly, the team didn't show up anyway.

The Flyers deserved this win. They came out today and played excellent D. They had forwards back, sticks down, bodies in lanes. The Pens should take some notes for next year.

Really disappointing on 1 level, but after going down 3-0 there was no room for error. They err'd this afternoon. MAF will get most of the blame, but the team failed to show up and play with desperation. They looked slow and disinterested. Unbelievably disappointing.

There is no excuse by coach dan or the players for their 1st period play.The pens put themselves in this position. There will be changes , there will be changes that hurt.

Abe Frohman wrote:Some teams are built around stars who garner lots and lots of scoring trophies...but cannot find the necessary chemistry to excel in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this MAY be the Pens best description.

You draft well...get superstars, but FAIL to surround them with the talent needed to win in the PLAYOFFS. You overspend on some areas (CENTER, I will say until they unload one of these players), ignore others to their detriment.

Top goalie sucks in the series...top-2 stars almost invisible for long stretches...defense is soft...NO veteran leadership. PERIOD...

Massive changes are needed...a lot of dead-weight on this team.

Maybe my history is foggy, but we've already won 1 cup with this team, right? That would ultimately debunk this entire post.

Yeah...and IF you'll stand pat on a gameplan that might have worked 3 years ago...I'll point to the FACTS:

1) Early exits the past 3 years (last year WAS marred by injuries, I'll agree).2) The Pens' roster is NOT that of 2009.3) 2009 required hurculean efforts from Crosby and Malkin (the first teammates with 30+ Playoff points since the Avs, I believe...1996??). To expect that every year (or ever again) may be asking too much.

Team chemistry (or balance, if you will) may be MUCH more important than having a few BIG guns surrounded by lower-tier talent.

The Pens' allocation / spending of money MUST be questioned...and the finger is pointed at Shero as much as anybody else for this debacle. To 'nibble around the margins' this offseason will be an epic mistake...

I still feel the pens are the better team. Pens played awful though and deserved to lose. PK and Goaltending were beyond belief bad. I don't understand how they can play so well all season and then look like they have no clue for an entire series. Completely gave away this series. Just handed it over. Only good news is the players enter the post season healthy and they should come into next year in shape and ready to go unlike the past few seasons.

Got to give the Flyers credit today. They came out ready to finish and just choked the life out of the Pens. I think they had about 35 blocked shots through the first two periods alone. Bryz is a real weak link at times, but the Flyers took the old Detroit/Osgood approach of simply reducing good chances and shots down to very, very few to where it didn't matter who was in net.